


Ten Seconds Silence

by Jabberwockyx



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Asari Characters, F/F, Mind Meld, Toddlers, little blue babies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-29
Updated: 2019-04-29
Packaged: 2020-02-09 12:45:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18638401
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jabberwockyx/pseuds/Jabberwockyx
Summary: During their daughter’s naptime, Shepard and Liara attempt to have a moment alone.





	Ten Seconds Silence

“Is she down?” Shepard asked, lifting her head up to look at Liara as she entered the room. She was flat on her back on their bed, exhausted from romping around with their daughter.

“Yes, thank the Goddess. I thought she would never calm down, but you wore her out,” Liara said, sitting on the edge of the bed.

“I wore  _myself_  out.” Shepard chuckled, using her elbows to prop herself up. “You can only play the Normandy game so many times before you start getting out of breath.” The Normandy game was one of Tahirah’s favorite pre-nap games, as it involved her father picking her up and zooming her around the room until one or both of them needed to crash. The three-year-old was starting to exhibit some level of control over her biotics, and she enjoyed attempting to knock over her toys whenever Shepard shouted “fire!”

“Well, I hope you didn’t wear yourself out  _too_  badly… Tahirah  _is_  sound asleep now, you know. We can actually be alone and uninterrupted for more than ten seconds…” The suggestive undertone to Liara’s words had Shepard’s full attention, and she sat bolt upright.

“I’m fine, I’m not tired, we’re good, let’s do this.” Liara laughed at the way the words tumbled out of her mouth in rapid succession.

“I do appreciate you wearing yourself out for her, though,” she said, swinging one leg over her lap and straddling her. “You’re a good father,” she added, planting a kiss on her forehead. 

“And you’re a good mother,” Shepard replied, looping her arms around her waist. “So, uh, what did you have in mind for this alone time?”

Liara’s smile was enigmatic. “Why don’t you just close your eyes and relax, Shepard?” she said, reaching one hand to gently stroke her cheek.

The corners of Shepard’s mouth quirked up into a wry smile. “No,” she said, her chin tilting up in defiance. “I don’t like it when I can’t see you. And I like seeing you like this.” She reached for Liara’s hand, threading her fingers between her own. “I never want to miss a moment when I’m with you.”

Liara smiled at her words, the faintest tinge of purple tinting her freckled cheeks. “No… me neither.” She glanced down, long lashes hiding her eyes from view for a few brief seconds. When she turned her gaze upwards once more, Shepard’s stomach jolted at the sight of her eyes: her whites had turned as black as night, her pupils a deep, haunting grey. Coupled with the ethereal biotic glow that had begun humming around her, she looked positively unearthly.

“I’ll never get used to this,” she muttered, more to herself than anyone. No matter how many times they melded, the sight of Liara’s eyes never ceased to awe her. There was something about gazing into the dark void that stirred a primal instinct in the pit of her stomach, touching her on a level she didn’t even know existed. Perhaps it was because she felt like she was looking into the depths of Liara’s soul , or perhaps it was just because the change made Liara look like a celestial, foreboding goddess, but whatever it was, those pitch-black eyes never failed to turn her on. “You’re beautiful,” she whispered, leaning in to kiss Liara’s neck, one hand already working its way up her shirt.

Finally, her head buried into the crook of her partner’s neck, she allowed herself to close her eyes, falling into the farthest reaches of her mind. Her skin tingled as Liara’s consciousness entwined with her own, the faintest of electrical impulses coursing up her spine like gossamer fingers.

 _I love you_.

Liara didn’t say it out loud, but then again, she didn’t have to. The thought echoed in Shepard’s mind, and she opened her eyes to find Liara gazing at her with an expression of utmost adoration, and she could practically  _feel_  her heart swell with affection.

 _I love you too_ , she thought back, concentrating on the words harder than she had to. She wasn’t as adept at this as Liara was; she needed to make sure she understood.  _I love you, I love you, I love you_.

 _I know_. Liara’s voice interrupted her intense concentration of brainwaves, and Shepard relaxed, relieved that the sentiment had been received.  Liara chuckled out loud, leaning in to kiss her, and Shepard could sense that she found her relief amusing. Another tendril of thought twisted inside Shepard’s mind as Liara ran her hands up the length of her body.  _You don’t have to try so hard. I’m here._

And it was true, she could sense Liara’s presence within her and around her, and it felt so right to be joined together like this, their minds and nervous systems melded into one. A sudden surge of longing washed over Shepard, and she pressed closer against Liara, as if they could merge into one being if they tried hard enough. The mental union wasn’t enough, she needed to be one with Liara on a physical level.

She pulled Liara down on top of her, working her shirt over her head with just a slight snag on her headcrest to slow her down. Shepard quickly followed suit, tugging her own shirt and sports bra over her head in one swift motion. She tossed the useless articles of clothing onto the floor and pulled Liara’s body flush against her own, relishing the sensation of bare skin against skin.

Liara let out a small gasp as Shepard ran her fingers up the length of her spine to nestle in the ridges at the base of her skull. A thrum of biotic energy simultaneously coursed through their joined bodies, and Shepard’s free hand was already working at the button of Liara’s pants. She  _needed_  this, she needed to wrap Liara’s legs around her waist and be intimate with every inch of her body, with no pesky articles of clothing encumbering her. She needed to be entwined with her lover and feel each wave of ecstasy Liara sent to every erogenous zone she possessed.

Her hand was partway down the front of Liara’s pants when she heard a familiar, high-pitched voice in her ear. “Daddyyyyyy!”

Shepard’s reaction was instantaneous, immediately throwing Liara off of her and onto the floor and whipping her head around to find the source of the interruption.

“Mommyyyyy!”  The child’s voice called out again, and Shepard heaved a huge sigh of relief when she realized that Tahirah hadn’t sneaked into their bedroom.

“It’s just the baby monitor,” she informed Liara, who was struggling to sit up on the floor rubbing her injured rear.

“I can see that.” Liara’s words were forced out through grit teeth, and Shepard winced. The connection between them had been broken the instant Shepard pushed her away; the whites of Liara’s eyes were no longer pitch black, and all the color had seeped back into her blue irises.

“Shit, sorry, I’m so sorry,” she apologized, bending down to wrap an arm around Liara’s waist and scoop her up off the floor. She grabbed the monitor with her free hand and pressed the button to talk to her daughter. “Go back to sleep, Tahirah.”

“But I woke up an’ I’m not sleepy anymore!”

Shepard rolled her eyes at Liara, who shrugged plaintively. “If you don’t sleep now, you’re going to be cranky later. Do the trick Uncle Wrex taught you.”

“Okay.” Shepard exhaled, thinking for a split second that she could go back to what she had been doing. The three-year-old had no intention of letting her do just that, however, since she began counting aloud. “Oneeeee pyjak, twoooooo pyjak, freeeeee pyjak…” There was a pause as the young asari thought for a moment. “Daddy, what comes after free?”

“Oh boy,” Shepard muttered to herself. She pressed the button again and raised the baby monitor to her mouth. “Hang on, Tahirah, Daddy’s coming.” She placed the intercom back on the bedside table and turned to Liara, who was gingerly sitting on the edge of their bed. “Liara, I am so sorry I threw you like that, I don’t know what I was thinking. I guess I just… freaked out?” They could still hear the sounds of Tahirah in the background, singing an asari lullaby to herself.

“It’s fine.” Liara brushed the apology off and waved her away. “Just try to get her back to sleep, and maybe we’ll still have time for, well, something.”

The pressure was on, and K. Shepard was determined to have sex before naptime was over. “Yeah. Yeah, okay, I’ll do that.” She made for the doorway, only to stop when Liara called her name.

“Please put your shirt back on first.”

“Ah.” Shepard looked down at her bare torso, all sinewy muscle and battle-scarred skin. “That might be a good idea.” She hastily threw her shirt back down and began heading down the long hallway. She carefully opened the door a crack and peeked in, just in case Tahirah had fallen back asleep in the two minutes it had taken to reach her.

She had no such luck, but the excited voice that reached her ears made all the hassle worth it. “Daddy!”

Shepard smiled, kneeling besides the child-proofed bed. “Hey, baby girl, it’s time to go back to sleep. You know you get cranky if you don’t sleep through nap time, and nobody wants that.”

Tahirah hummed, absently reaching out to grasp her father’s hand. Shepard gently squeezed it, smiling at the contrast between Tahirah’s chubby, bright blue hand, and her own, much larger one. “Sing me a song.”

Shepard was at a loss. “Well, you know I don’t know all the words to Mommy’s songs, right?” she began, choosing her words carefully. She had never really had much of an ear for music; she could appreciate a good beat to dance to, but lyrics always escaped her. Unlike Liara, K. Shepard had never had a loving parent to raise her and sing bedtime songs to her, she had no childhood tunes to sing to her own daughter.

Tahirah thought about that for a few moments before deciding, “I don’t care.” She continued to look up at Shepard with wide grey eyes, expectant.

Shepard exhaled, realizing there was no way she was getting out of this. “Okay then.” She chewed on her lower lip, wracking her brain for  _something_ , anything. “Alright, I do know one song. I’ve only ever sang it with other people, though. You want to be my first audience?”

Tahirah nodded enthusiastically, giggling. She obediently closed her eyes and snuggled deeper into her bed in anticipation.

Shepard cleared her throat and began singing, her voice low. “From the skies of the Skyllian Verge, to the shores of colonies, we fight our planet’s battles, in space, on land, and sea. First to fight for right and freedom and to keep our honor clean, we are proud to claim the title of Systems Alliance Marine.” It had been years since she last sung the hymn of the Alliance Marines, but the words still rolled off her tongue, the lyrics permanently etched into some far corner of her brain.

“Our flag’s unfurled to every breeze, from dawn to setting sun; we have fought in every clime and place where we could take a gun. In the snow of far-off Arctic worlds, and in sunny tropic scenes, you will always find us on the job, the Systems Alliance Marines. Here’s health to you and to our Corps, which we are proud to serve; in many a strife we’ve fought for life, and never lost our nerve. If the Council and civilians ever look on Heaven’s scenes, they will find the streets are guarded by Systems Alliance Marines.”

As she finished the final words of the song, she noticed that Tahirah’s breath was evening out, her chest rising and falling rhythmically. She gently untangled her hand from her daughter’s and stood up, wincing as she bumped into the nightstand. “ _Shit_ ,” she hissed, the curse word slipping out before she could stop it.

Tahirah’s eyes fluttered open partway. “You hafta put a toy in the swear box,” she murmured.

Shepard suppressed a roll of the eyes and rubbed her jarred hip. “You’re right, I’ll go do that.” The swear box was her least favorite innovation. Liara had insisted on implementing it after Jack accidentally (at least, she  _claimed_  it was an accident, but her smirk told otherwise) taught Tahirah her first swear words. Every time Shepard slipped up and swore in front of the kids, a bottle of alcohol was confiscated from her liquor cabinet. Likewise, if Tahirah used one of the words Auntie Jack taught her, one of her toys was banished to the swear box. It was a fairly effective system, albeit one that Shepard hated.

“I liked that song,” Tahirah informed her, her eyes already drooping shut once more.

Shepard smiled and leaned in to kiss the crest of her forehead. “Thanks, baby girl. Sweet dreams.” She quietly shut Tahirah’s bedroom door behind her and returned to her own bedroom.

When she stepped through the door, she found Liara waiting for her in their bed, an odd expression on her face. It wasn’t a  _bad_  kind of odd, just not what she had been expecting. “What?” she asked, caught off guard.

Liara sat up, the silk sheets that had been covering her bare torso slipping down to her waist. “I could hear you both over the baby monitor.” And there it was again, those oddly soft eyes and half smile. It was affection, Shepard realized, although she didn’t know what exactly she’d done to warrant that expression of adoration.

“Oh.” She rubbed her neck somewhat sheepishly. “Yeah, sorry, I didn’t really know what to do. I’m not much of a singer, not like you. I don’t even know any kids’ songs.”

“No, Shepard…” Liara reached out for her, taking her hand and pulling her onto the bed. “It was sweet. It reminded me how lucky I am to have you.” She cradled Shepard’s face in her hands and leaned in to kiss her. “I couldn’t ask for a better partner, or a better father for our daughter,” she whispered, breath hot against Shepard’s lips.

Shepard hummed appreciatively in response, one hand already wandering up to cup Liara’s breast. “I’m luckier. I got you.” She kissed the juncture between Liara’s neck and her shoulder, lingering there for a few moments. “So, uh, do we have enough time to pick up where we left off?”

“Before naptime’s over? Probably not, at least not for what you’re thinking.”

“How do you know what I’m thinking?” Shepard grumbled into the crook of Liara’s neck.

“Well, I  _was_  in your mind before. Besides, I know how much you like being thorough.”

Shepard exhaled a little puff of laughter against the blue of Liara’s skin and rolled over onto her back. “Fair enough.”

“However…” Liara continued, tracing the outline of Shepard’s collarbone. “I think we could manage a brief union. Will you join with me, Shepard?”

“Do you really have to ask?”

Liara smiled and closed her eyes. “I suppose not.” When she opened them again, her eyes were pure black, and Shepard’s heart caught in her throat. She opened her mouth to comment on how beautiful Liara was at this moment, but her partner placed a finger on her lips before she could say anything. “Close your eyes, Shepard.”

There was something about the gentle order that made Shepard want to give in, so for once, she obeyed without question. Liara bent her forehead to touch Shepard’s, and a warm sensation flooded her as their minds joined as one, a process now so familiar to them that it felt as natural as breathing air.

 _That song you sang to Tahirah… I’ve never heard it before_.

_It’s from my days as a Marine. We used to sing it…_

Liara cut Shepard’s thought short with a kiss. “Show me,” she whispered aloud.

She cast her mind back to the last time she could remember singing the song, dredging up the old memory from somewhere in the back of her brain. If she concentrated hard enough, she could envision it perfectly. The night air was cool against her face, a welcome change from the searing heat of the fireplace that crackled nearby. Morale was low among the marines, the settlement they’d been sent to investigate found empty, with no apparent survivors. Not to be discouraged, Shepard had suggested they set up camp for the night and resume the investigation of the colony of Akuze the following morning.

Johnson was the one who’d begun singing first. He always was an optimist, the goofball who tried to lift everyone’s spirits. One by one, the rest of the marines joined in, until the campsite was filled with the sounds of the rousing chorus, and for the first time in 23 years, N7 Alliance Marine K. Shepard felt like she was part of a family. She was where she was meant to be, surrounded by a team of soldiers who believed in her and made her feel like she belonged.

The first wave of thresher maws attacked not an hour later.

The panic attack blindsided her, the images that she spent so much time blocking out assaulting her every sense. Shepard gasped out loud, terror constricting her chest and the metallic tang of blood staining her tongue. She squeezed her eyes even farther shut, trying to block out the screams that filled her ears.

 _Shepard_. She was vaguely aware of Liara’s voice in the background of her mind’s ear, but it wasn’t enough to break through the barriers her mind had thrown up in an attempt to protect herself.

“Shepard!” Her eyes flew open at the sound of her name being spoken out loud, and it took her a few moments to register that it was Liara she was seeing, and that it was Liara’s arms holding her tight, not the jaws of a thresher maw. “It’s okay,” Liara continued, and that was enough for her mental block to break down, even slightly, and their connection was reestablished.

All at once, she was calming down, the emotional link neutralizing her overwhelmingly negative feelings. Liara’s nervous system was her own, and every bit of love and tranquility she possessed poured into Shepard. Her heartbeat started to still, her breath evening out, and she simply laid there as Liara held her, recovering.

“You’re safe, and you’re with me,” Liara said, fully aware that Shepard needed to hear her voice out loud right now. “And I won’t let anything hurt you again.” She pressed her lips to Shepard’s forehead, sending her positive thoughts. The day of their wedding, with Garrus at her side as her best man, and Matriarch Aethyta walking Liara down the aisle. The moment the doctor handed a newborn Tahirah to Shepard, who cried when she saw that her asari daughter had her eyes. Last weekend, when the old Normandy crew and their significant others got together for dinner and drinks, their kids in tow. Sometimes it was the little things in life that made her the happiest, like simply being alive, in love, and happily drunk.

After several long minutes, Shepard opened her eyes, finally feeling in control of herself once more. “I’m supposed to be the one who won’t let anything hurt you,” she mumbled, snuggling closer so she could rest her head on Liara’s chest.  “And thank you.”

“It goes both ways, Shepard,” Liara replied, kissing the top of her head.

Shepard was quiet for a few moments, thinking about the happy memories Liara had shared with her. “Remember when Tahirah was born, you hated me right up until that moment when the doctor handed her to me and I started crying?”

“I didn’t hate you!” Liara protested.

“Mmm, pretty sure you specifically told me you did.”

“Well, you  _did_  answer the phone when I was in the middle of labor.”

“It was Garrus, I had to tell him the news!”

“And you forgot to bring the bag I packed for after the delivery.”

“That wasn’t my fault, I was a little preoccupied getting you to the hospital.”

“You asked me ‘can you feel that?’ when I was delivering her!”

Shepard laughed out loud at the recollection, eliciting a giggle from Liara as well. “Okay, I don’t have an excuse for that one. But I promise you that the next time around, I’ll be better.”

At that, Liara startled slightly. “Next time?”

Shepard pulled away from Liara and sat up so that she could properly look into her eyes. “Yeah. I love Tahirah, and I love you, and I’d love another little blue baby. Can we have another kid?”

The smile on Liara’s face positively radiant. “Nothing would make me happier. I’ll clear my schedule for tonight, and we’ll plan. But for now… I think someone’s naptime is over.”

Shepard grinned, giddiness collecting in the pit of her stomach at the thought of expanding her family. “Sounds like a plan.” She handed Liara her shirt and watched as she slipped it back on.

As Liara opened their bedroom door, she seemed to remember something and turned back around. “Oh, and Shepard?”

Shepard raised a questioning eyebrow.

“Don’t forget, you still have to put that bottle of vodka in the swear box.”

“ _Fuck_.”


End file.
